


Arrow

by thekingofcarrotflowers



Series: Closer [4]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Books, Chocolate, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Dorian is a nerd, Gift Giving, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-13 14:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4526406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekingofcarrotflowers/pseuds/thekingofcarrotflowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Krem is surprised when Dorian has a thank-you gift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arrow

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of fluff before things get real in the next chapter??

Krem found himself watching the door of the tavern more often than not. The Chargers were trying to impress some soldier Bull had brought along with him with tales of their adventures. It had delved into who had managed to get the grossest wound, and Krem was pretty sure Rocky’s swollen and pus-filled back after a run-in with a brier patch took the cake. He’d been allergic to whatever salves Stitches had tried to use to extract the barbs, and things had quickly gone from bad to worse. From the green look on the woman’s face, Krem was pretty sure Rocky was going to win, as predicted.

  
His mind kept wandering back to Dorian in the mud, to the hurt look in his eyes and the way he winced when the soldiers implied he was using blood magic. He knew no one in the Inner Circle would fault Dorian for teaching the group a painful lesson, Krem seeing that even Blackwall and Solas had started to develop a grudging like for the man. The fact that Dorian chose not to, chose to be the better person made something flutter in his stomach, made Dorian seem that much more appealing all-the-sudden. It was stupid, Krem scolded himself, stupid to let his attraction to Dorian start getting away from him and turn into something more.

  
“Got a date?” Bull said close to his ear suddenly, making Krem jump and nearly knock over his ale. The table hooted at him for a moment as ale sloshed onto the table, before turning their attention back to showing off their scars.

  
“No,” Krem shrugged, turning his attention back to the table. The way Bull was grinning, he knew he wasn’t fooling anyone.

  
“Dorian hasn’t been in for a few days,” Bull shrugged, leaning back in his chair again.

  
“I suspect he doesn’t want to get rain on all those fancy robes of his,” Krem answered, making sure his voice had just the right amount of judgment in it so Bull might think he was still somewhat disapproving of the man. He took a swig of his ale, glancing at the soldier laughing along with the Chargers. Instead, the thought of his crimson robes soaked in mud and rain made him frown.

  
“Well, I think he might make an exception for someone,” Bull murmured, causing Krem’s attention to snap back towards the door.

  
Dorian was making a b-line right for their table. He was in those teal robes again, his skin and hair free of dirt, his eyes bright. Krem couldn’t help but smile at him, but when Bull’s hand made contact with his shoulder, quickly turned his smile for Dorian into a glower for the Bull. When the mage reached their table, he presented a box wrapped in a silk red bow to Krem.

  
“What’s this?” Krem asked, blinking down at the item now set before him on the table. The Chargers’ attention was drifting between their own conversations and Krem and Dorian’s interactions now, chattering slowing, smirks growing.

  
“A thank you,” Dorian cleared his throat, glancing at the Bull and the Chargers quickly, steeling himself to continue, “For earlier. It’s all I had, so I apologize if it’s not worthy, but—”

  
Bull was looking between Krem and Dorian now, smile still on his face, curiosity twinkling in his eyes, “Go on, Krem, open it up.”

  
“We don’t get something?” Stitches teased from the other end of the table, and Dorian waved him off peevishly, much to everyone’s amusement.

  
Hesitantly, Krem tugged at the bow, letting the material fall to the table. He wasn’t sure what to expect, the box dark and sleek and looking expensive. These weren’t the sorts of gifts he usually received. Back home, it’d been handmade outfits (sometimes dresses that made his stomach churn) and necessities because that was all his family could afford. Once, there’d been a jewelry box carved from a cherry tree that Krem ended up using for the pins and clasps of his armor. With the Chargers, it was usually weapons or amour he’d been pining over, or books of dirty jokes. There’d even been a sleek, glass cock from Skinner and Dalish once. This felt different, oddly special and personal, and it made Krem’s heartbeat pick up and his throat feel dry.

  
Inside, there were rows of chocolates, looking to be expertly crafted. They smelled rich and deep, and Krem quickly realized they were from Tevinter. There was something sweet and spicy to them, too, and it all made Krem’s mouth water. He rarely had chocolate up north, only a piece or two on certain holidays, and now Dorian was presenting him with a whole box of the things. He shoved them away quickly, and regretted it when Dorian’s face fell. Bull grunted next to him, nudging him with his elbow.

  
Dorian shifted, hands lifting to go to take the box back, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

  
“I didn’t mean—” Krem cut himself off, finally meeting Dorian’s eyes, “I can’t take these from you.”

  
Dorian’s hurt look faded then, understanding settling in as something soft came into his expression, “As unacceptable as it is, I am actually regifting them to you. Felix sent them to me, after I wrote a later complaining about the overly-sweet shit that passes for chocolate in Fereldan. So, you are not putting me out in any way.”

  
“I shouldn’t take a gift from your friend,” Krem reiterated, brow furrowing. It didn’t make the gift any easy to take. He knew little of Felix, but Dorian told stories of him with such warmth and genuine affection that he assumed he was important to Dorian. The Chargers were talking again, idle chatter as they watched the exchange out of the corner of their eyes.

  
Dorian shrugged, “I’m sure I could get Felix to send me more. Besides,” Dorian swept into the one vacant seat at the end of the table, shoving the box back at Krem, “I would like you to have them.”  
Krem snorted, knowing this was a losing battle, “Fine. We’ll just have to share them.”

  
“Fair enough,” Dorian reached for a chocolate, picking one up carefully and gesturing to the box for Krem to do the same. Krem snatched one up, quickly popping the piece into his mouth and biting down. Rich, slightly bitter chocolate filled his mouth, followed by gooey, sweet raspberry filling and a good kick of spice. Krem couldn’t help the groan of happiness that escaped him, forgetting how much he’d liked the sweets in the past, his mind filling with memories of busy markets and loud music and laughter during celebrations. Dorian chuckled at him, biting into his own piece with finesse. When he licked the bit of raspberry filling that stuck to his finger away, Krem felt the back of his neck flush and he quickly shoved another piece into his mouth. Bull chortled softly to his side, making the blush bloom further across his cheeks.

  
“So, you like it?” Dorian asked, oblivious to the struggle Krem was having across the table.

  
“S’good,” Krem nodded enthusiastically, chewing on the second piece in his mouth.

  
“The least I could do, really.”

  
“How’s the book?” Krem asked, trying to distract himself from the warmth deep in his gut.

  
Dorian shrugged, “Though I’m not very skilled at restoration, it may be recoverable. I could replace it with one of my own copies of Brother Genitivi’s works, but they’re  some of the only ones I brought from home. If it can’t be repaired, I suppose I shall just donate my copy. Wouldn’t want the Orlesian University to doubt our capabilities to care for their books.”

  
“Brother Genitivi,” Krem repeated, the name vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t exactly place it.

  
“In The Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of a Chantry Scholar,” Dorian insisted, as if that would somehow jog Krem’s memory. The warrior shrugged slightly, “Tales from Beneath the Earth? Not even Theadas: Myths and Legends?”

  
“Sorry,” Krem shook his head slightly, “Didn’t exactly have the luxury of my own personal library up north.”

  
“Ah,” Dorian’s brow furrowed, looking a mixture of guilty and contemplative. It’d been a while since Dorian had said something that made Krem realize how vastly different their worlds had been up north, and he knew that Dorian was stewing in the fact he might have made Krem feel self-conscious, even though Krem wasn’t particularly offended. There was long, somewhat tense silence that made Krem shuffled awkwardly in his seat as Dorian seemed to mull something over, “Would you, perhaps, like to read something of his? Of course, you don’t have to, I just have most of his works in my small personal collection here and —”

  
“That’d be fine,” Krem cut him off, nodding and smiling slightly. He didn’t spend much time reading, and when it did, it was usually the smutty literature that the boys passed around. But, having another reason to talk to Dorian was oddly appealing.

  
“Wonderful,” Dorian grinned broadly, before reigning his reaction back into something more appropriate, “Good, yes, always important to keep one’s mind sharp.”

  
Krem couldn’t help but smile at Dorian, unsure if he would find anything of interest in some stuffy Chantry brother’s writings, but finding himself entirely interested in the way he could make Dorian’s eyes light up like that, make a little chunk of his mask fall away, and he decided that was worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> If my titles don't make sense, it's because they are all based on Tegan & Sara songs and they MAKE SENSE TO ME.
> 
> Say hello! (Though, I suspect most of you know me at this point) Request something you want to see in the future!  
> thekingofcarrotflower.tumblr.com/


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